Jamie Lee Rathburn of Riddle dies in crash in Canyonville

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CANYONVILLE — A single mother of three young boys died in a car accident Friday night on Canyonville-Riddle Road.

Jamie Lee Rathburn, 26, of Riddle was driving a 1994 Ford Explorer east near Milepost 1 at about 10:20 p.m. when her vehicle weaved out of its lane and rolled multiple times, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said Rathburn was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.

Sheriff’s spokesman Dwes Hutson said it appeared Rathburn was not wearing a seat belt.

A friend of Rathburn’s, Dawn Dunlap, 29, said today that Rathburn was a single mother with three young boys.

She said she and Rathburn worked together at Ken’s Sidewalk Cafe in Canyonville for the past six months.

“Everybody there is like a close-knit family so this has been very hard for us,” Dunlap said. “Jamie had an awesome sense of humor. She always had us laughing. It’s been really hard since we’ve had to go back to work and she’s not there.

“She was always really full of life and always told us we should forgive people who have done wrong to us because we never know when our last day will be,” she said.

Dunlap said that Rathburn grew up in the community and attended South Umpqua High School.

She described Rathburn as an optimistic, kind and giving person. “She’d give you the shirt off her back,” she said.

Dunlap said that Rathburn had gotten a ride from a co-worker Friday night to the home she shares with her mother. Rathburn then apparently decided to drive back into town to a store and crashed on the way, she said.

Efforts to reach Rathburn’s mother were unsuccessful.

Dunlap said family and friends will have a celebration of life for Rathburn at 1 p.m. June 20 at Stanton Park in Canyonville.